Recent work in our laboratory has led to the development of techniques for establishing a precise time zero for the initiation of the antiviral action of interferon (IF), and for synchronizing the response of cell nuclei to the IF-generated signal that induces the synthesis of IF-dependent mRNAs for antiviral effector molecules. The availability of these procedures now makes it possible to (1) determine the rapidity with which the signal generated by IF at the cell membrane is transmitted to the nucleus, thus switching on the formation of mRNA that codes for antiviral effectors; (2) determine whether the signal decays with time; and (3) determine the kinetics of activation of two dsRNA-dependent enzymes which inhibit viral protein synthesis in IF-treated cells, namely, a trinucleotide synthetase and a protein kinase. This will be accomplished by performing timed experiments in which suppression of the mRNA response for various intervals will be used to skew or uncouple the kinetics of effector molecule synthesis. In conjunction with these experiments utilizing the same or similar approaches, the antitumor effects of IF will be compared with its antiviral effect in cells chronically infected with a virus; and the cyclic elution and rebinding of IF at the cell membrane with consequent consecutive induction of the antiviral state in a series of cells, recently demonstrated in our laboratoy, will be studied further to determine whether elution/rebinding and augmentation of IF action varies in is kinetics and characteristics for different IFs, different species, and different types of cells.